Dr. John Hicks of EmergeOrtho discusses his time in Uganda

At the Asheville OrthoForum Meeting, we had a chance to sit down with Dr. John Hicks, a spine surgeon of EmergeOrtho, to talk about his recent trip to Kampala, Uganda organized by On-Belay Medical in Knoxville.

In Kampala, they were able to partner with local surgeons at Mulago Hospital, African Renewal Ministries and Wentz Medical Clinic to perform over 25 complex spine and orthopaedic surgeries.

The week was spent collaborating, teaching, and performing surgeries that are less common in Uganda because of the limitation of the facilities and lack of supplies.

“Teaching the residents was the most impactful thing. That information transfer allows local providers to learn, function and provide a service year after year. I think the teaching was the biggest value and the part we enjoyed the most as members of the team,” said Hicks. “We definitely want to reconvene and talk about where we can take this and how we can proceed.”